Thread by @CIA

Roderick Stephen Hall survived 6 difficult months during #WWII in the Alps sabotaging Nazi supply routes.
bit.ly/2rlCgsy
#OSS75

“Steve” was born in Peking, China in 1915.
His father was a successful international businessman & his mother was a doctor.
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After graduating from @phillipsacademy in 1934, Steve traveled the world seeking adventure & becoming an avid outdoorsman.
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@phillipsacademy Steve became very familiar w Italian Alps—in particular, the Brenner Pass—while he hiked, skied, & climbed his way through the area.
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#WWII broke out as Steve returned from his latest adventure & enrolled @Yale.
He dropped out to enlist in the @USArmy.
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@Yale @USArmy Fall, 1943: Steve wrote a letter to #OSS proposing a bold sabotage mission: cut off access to Brenner Pass.
bit.ly/2trHS5e
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His plan got attention of #OSS Special Ops who dealt in sabotage & subversive activities.
Steve was ordered to report to OSS HQ in DC
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August 1944: Steve & his team dropped into foothills of Italian Alps & spent next 6 months blowing up communications & supply routes.
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January 1945: Steve got caught in a blinding snowstorm while he was on his way to blow up hydroelectric plant in Cortina.
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Steve was found with both feet so frozen & swollen he could not complete his mission nor escape.
He was turned over to S.S. officers.
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Nazis tortured him for 2 weeks before hanging him from a steam pipe. Steve kept silent & never revealed his connection with #OSS.
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As Steve was in uniform, his murder was in violation of the Geneva Convention.
1946: 4 Nazis were tried & convicted of his murder.
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Steve wrote detailed letters to superiors telling of ops & his plans, & wrote thoughtful & funny letters home
bit.ly/2trHS5e
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Steve was posthumously awarded Legion of Merit & his name resides in #OSS Book of Honor @ CIA Headquarters.
bit.ly/2rlCgsy
#OSS75